SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the State-owned manager of the Subic Bay Freeport, emerged as the top taxpayer in the Subic Bay Freeport, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The Subic agency swept major awards during the BIR’s Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) Taxpayer’s Appreciation Day 2026 at the Travelers Hotel here on November 11, which recognized taxpayers that diligently paid their dues.

SBMA received four awards: “Highest Growth in Tax Payments,” “Top Income Tax Payment Contributor,” “Top VAT and VAT on Local Sales Payment Contributor,” and “Top Withholding Tax-Compensation Payment Contributor.”

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño received the citations from BIR Revenue Region No. 4 (RR4) Regional Director Saridopen Bantog, Central Luzon Assistant Regional Director Clea Marie Pimentel, and Subic Revenue District Office head Sohailey Pandapatan.

The BIR also handed over citations to Subic investor firms, including: Agila Subic; HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Philippines, Inc.; Vectrus Subic Corporation; Central Asia Development Pacific Inc.; Subic Duty Free Shop Inc.; Subic Bay Texas Joe’s Inc.; and Subic Network Solutions.

Agila Subic, HD Hyundai, and Vectrus Subic are all located at the former Hanjin shipyard at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula, which has become a major investment area in the Freeport in recent years.

Records indicate that SBMA’s income tax payments surged to P489 million in 2025, nearly four times higher than the P130 million it paid in 2023, after the transition in 2024 to a 25-percent corporate income tax framework that replaced the previous 5-percent tax structure.

This was due to the implementation of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, which significantly increased the agency’s corporate income tax obligations.

Under the previous structure, the 5 percent gross income tax from Subic-registered companies was split between the national government (3 percent) and the SBMA (2 percent).

This year, SBMA said it has remitted P820 million to the National Treasury after turning over P1.465 billion in revenue earnings and dividends to the government for net earnings and prior dividend installments for 2025.

Aliño said during the awards ceremony that from 1994 to September 2026, the Subic Bay Freeport has contributed P49.67 billion in revenue to the BIR.

“Behind every peso is a locator who declared honestly and an invoice that was issued correctly. Paying your taxes honestly says you believe in this country,” Aliño said. “Think about what that money became: roads, classrooms, hospital beds, the salaries of public servants,” he added. ▲